I’m sure many of you are aware of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which is awarded if a driver manages to win the Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hour and the Monaco Grand Prix which has been won just once, by Graham Hill (Indy in ’66, Le Mans in ’72 and Monaco in ’63, ’64, ’65, ’68 and ’69), as well as the F1 Championship in ’62 and ’68 (some consider that over Monaco as the third ingredient for the Triple Crown), and some of the IndyCar fanatics here should also know that starting in 2013 they are reintroducing the IndyCar Triple Crown (Indy 500, Ponoco 500 and California 500/Michigan500 all in the same year) which has also been won just once, by Al Unser.

This made me think, which three races would F1 Fanatics consider to make up a Triple Crown of F1? One could consider the Classic Esses as I call them, Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka as one, however all three are very similar tracks, or 3 of the longest serving tracks, Silverstone, Monaco and Monza, but they were each absent at various points in the calendar, and so forth. To make it more challenging, should a driver require to have won each of the races in a single season (like IndyCar), or over the course of a career?

Personally my Triple Crown of F1 would consist of Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka, which would make Michael Schumacher (2002) the most recent recipient. Damon Hill (1994) and Ayrton Senna (1988) also done similar.

Note Suzuka was absent from the calendar until 1986 and in 2007 and 2008, and likewise Spa in 2003 and 2006.

The Classic Triple Crown requires drivers to win at Monaco (for the glamour and prestige), Monza (for the racing heritage), and Spa (often cited by drivers as one of the most desired wins), all in the same year. The most recent driver to achieve this Classic Triple is Sebastian Vettel in 2011 – Ayrton Senna also achieved it in 1990.

The Sparkling Triple Crown requires the driver to win the three glitziest races on the calendar in a single year: Monaco, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi. To date, no driver has completed this particular triple. If you broaden the definition to “winning all three races over the course of a career”, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel become recipients.

That’s an interesting question. I think that a Triple Crown of F1 should make up three circuits of differing qualities, much like the Triple Crown of Motorsport includes three different kinds of racing. I would probably have Monaco (for simply trying to stay on the track for 78 laps), Monza (for speed) and maybe Singapore (for endurance). The only problem with this of course is that Singapore is a relatively new addition to the calendar. The most consistent possible Triple Crown over the history of F1 would have to be Silverstone, Monza, Monaco and/or Spa. But in that case Silverstone and Monza, up until the early ’90s were similar in that they were the two fastest circuits on the calendar, meaning that they offered pretty much the same challenges to the driver. It’s difficult to make a Triple Crown of F1 without changing which circuits would form its make-up over time. I think I would have Monza, Monaco and Spa in a single season as a Triple Crown or Silverstone, Monaco and Monza.

I would consider Brazil (for the challenges it almost always brings), Spa (because it’s very very extense, hard, slopy and also praised by drivers) and Canada (which is a good race and a “fast Monaco” for the walls always close.

I’d say Monza, Silverstone and Suzuka. Reason: these probably are the most amazing races to win, and to be on the podium. The crowd at each of theses races is amazing. A picture that comes to mind is Vettel winning at Monza 2011, while the gigantic crowd is cheering for alonso. Likewise, Kobayashi being on the podium this year at Suzuka, receifing great support from his countrymen.

In terms of an F1 triple-crown, I’d say you should have one high-downforce track, one low-downforce track, and one something in between. So that’s automatically Monaco and Monza in there. The “something in between” depends on what you’re after. Ideally, I’d want something that’s been on the calendar since the start. The obvious choices would be Silverstone and Spa, although they haven’t been on the calendar consistently since 1950. I’d lean towards Spa, due to its high-speed corners and elevation changes, something you can’t find a lot of in Monaco, Monza, or Silverstone. Silverstone has some high-speed corners, but it’s a flat circuit.